SpayMart is holding its annual Spring Gala and Auction to benefit homeless cats on Saturday, April 6, from 6 to 10 p.m. "An Evening Along the Bayou" will raise a substantial percentage of SpayMart's operating funds, which will allow the organization to continue providing low-cost spay/neuter and adoption services to the public.

The celebration at the home and gardens of Dr. Rollie Norris on Bayou St. John in New Orleans promises to be a fun-filled night set in near tropical surroundings with live music, martini bars, raffles, great food by local chefs, entertainment, live and silent auctions, and free photographs.

Tickets are $75 if ordered ahead of time, $100 at the door, and $750 for a reserved table for eight. You can order tickets at SpayMart or buy them at the SpayMart Thrift and Gift Shop in the Century Plaza Shopping Center at 6601 Veterans Blvd. in Metairie.

The home of Dr. Rollie Norris, where An Evening on the Bayou will be heldSpayMart

SpayMart was started by Lynn Chiche and Pam Casey in 1998 to to reduce pet overpopulation in the New Orleans area. Their mission has always been to address animal overpopulation and animal homelessness through education, aggressive spay/neuter, and adoption programs. The organization spay/neuters an average of 1,500 animals of indigent pet owners annually and adopts more than 400 cats to loving homes.

The non-profit group was getting ready to open the city's first low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter clinic when Katrina hit, destroying the roof and ruining everything inside.

After the storm, Chiche focused her efforts on rescuing cats from the floodwaters. Her house in Metairie flooded, and she landed near Picayune, Miss., where she bought some property and turned a large building into a no-kill shelter for cats.

She and her husband live on the grounds, and she cares for more than 250 cats, most rescued from New Orleans and surrounding parishes. To learn more about SpayMart and to see cats available for adoption, visit SpayMart or call the shelter at 601.749.0268.